It is a bittersweet day… I don’t want to stop yet I know all wonderful seasons have to transition onto the next… I had no idea this juicing discipline would unlock so many freedoms. As I sat and mulled over the significance of this weekend, the word and promise of peace rang through to me… In Hebrew, it is Shalom— and it means in essence: nothing lacking, nothing missing, nothing broken–wholly blessed and complete. I accept and embrace that– I have certainly come a long way this past month and feel better than I have in years!!!!

To reiterate the sense of newness and calm assurance I was feeling, I got a spark of memory about something I noticed yesterday. There was a plant that had been sitting for over a year in front of our complex and as I first step toward cleaning up the area, I moved the bit ol’ clay pot with the dead shrub outside where other living plants were… It was dry, brown, brittle, and very sad looking. As I walked past it, I saw that is had sprouted a green leaf. Shocked, I looked again… it had sprouted handful of green leaves! LIFE where in the very place I saw nothing but death; newness in the very thing I perceived worthless and discardable. The message in that bubbled in me and warmed my soul’s core… Thank you –thank you God! I went about the rest of this final juicing day with joy and fullness, despite a fitful sleep.

…to LIFE!

And even for the endless tossing and turning, the good I reaped was truly heaven-sent and something to increase my depth of compassion. As I fought to relax and fall into slumber, the thought crossed my mind that this must be an inkling of how God felt as He awaited for 3 whole earthly days and night before He rushed to reclaim His only begotten Son back into life…and this time forevermore! I know that when I miss someone that much, I can hardly wait to be reunited… the expansiveness of how that must have been for my Abba Father really moved me. This realization deepened the significance of the evening and the day in which I really wanted to be mindful of this eternal reality I call my own. Then, I packed up my juices and went to a meeting with my dear husby…

After a production meeting, I finished up some dishes for Easter supper with my folks tomorrow. I am a bit concerned to be honest since I am not eating as I go along… I don’t know how things are tasting. I take whiffs, but my confidence in my sense of smell is not that great… I figure I’ll wake up early and taste tomorrow after my first official meal. I decided I would break bread (matzo) in a quiet place in prayer.

The dishes I made are: parsnip, leek, potato soup (I suspect the parsnips are too plentiful, so it may come out too sweet), a glazed sweet potato “salad” that will be served cold with julienned fennel bulb, raisin, and parsley, and a toasted cauliflower side with the greens of the leeks and carrots in a coriander spice–I may make a creamy garlic dressing for this if the flavors are not melded well by the morning.

For myself, I am making a mishmosh tomato soup to ease back into solid foods… as I realize I am phasing out of a regimen meant to surrender me to the greater realities outside my fleshy needs, I love the growth and unshakable awareness. I feel like nothing is impossible and that I can do all that I am called to do… while intangible, that strength within is beyond invaluable to me and for that which I am in constant pursuit– a greater me able to fulfill a grander purpose.